A Kitty Tale: Cat in Flight
by EllaShade
Summary: Rei Kon's twin sister is headed back to find him after two years. But where has she been, and who are the people she has so many memories of? TalaOC EnriqueOC


** So lets hit it… I've been dreaming on this for god knows how long now- I figured it was just about time to write it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything connected to Beyblade, like the characters. However, Kitty Kon, Jet Tyler, Fleur Kimball and Luella Thomas and their personal situations belongeth to me.**

**This first chapter is set before Series One. **

**Chapter 1: The Dark Rose Four**

Grinning, I reached one of my closest friends' houses and gazed up at the window, a little out of breath from climbing up the steep hill. There was no way they were ever going to hear me with the stereo volume turned up that loud- I could hear it above my own headphones jammed in my ears. Not that I was complaining, of course- we could have miniature mosh- pits when music was this loud! I picked up a handful of gravel and hurled it at the window praying they were going to hear it. Sure fire thing… the window smacked open hitting the red brick wall and I winced- some of my friends could be rather careless. Fleur's California- gold head poked out the window and she smiled at me.

"Hey guys, Kit's here!"

I waited patiently at the door while someone got their arse down the stairs to open it for me. I'm Kit, or Kitty… or whatever you choose to call me. Well my real name's Tess Kon; I'm just called Kitty because of my cat- like qualities. No I don't scratch for fleas, and I am definitely NOT covered in fur. I have fangs though- pretty cool huh! I was born in China some thirteen years ago in a remote little village where we'd evolved in a different way to the rest of the world- fangs just worked for us. It's called being a neko- jin… like 'humanoid cat.' Anyway, right now I was in Russia (hell that's a long story- I'll get to it in a bit) and I only had one week left to chill out with my best buddies- hell was I going to make the most of it. Fleur was taking her time, so I decided to take a quick inventory of my surroundings. I was standing in a street with small detached houses lining both sides. Fleur's house was at the top of a hill that fell away steeply on either sides- great views, but getting there was a nightmare! She'd lived with her Mum since her Dad had left them on their own in California three years ago. As a family they'd been fairly well off and he'd left them with enough money to move here to Russia and pay for Fleur's boarding school fees. Wrapping my arms tightly around me I stared into the grey sky. A snowflake hit me in the eye- so much for romantic sky- gazing! Out here in the street it was absolutely freezing, living in Russia for a year I'd got used to the frequent snowfall, but I still think it's incredibly beautiful. Snow had just started to fall again and it filled the sky with silence. I knew I wouldn't see snow nearly so much when this week was up- missing it would be amazingly easy. The front door opened and the grinning face of Fleur appeared; it was her Mum's house and when we weren't in boarding school (which we'd never be anymore seeing as we'd all just quit) we usually hung around here or the flat.

"You alright kid?" Fleur was, what, a month older than me? And over a head taller, so she took it upon herself to tease me. 'Kid' had developed into another nickname- one only my closest friends ever used; if anybody else tried that one, I think I'd take great pleasure in smacking them over the head. Hard! Well, I'm not usually a violent person; I have to make up for it somewhere! I hugged her quickly and headed up the stairs as she shut the door behind me. Goodbye quiet street and silent snow… Hello to the cacophony of noise that already enveloped me- and I hadn't even reached Fleur's room yet. I leapt over boxes in the hall, nearly breaking my ankle and then nearly having my nose broken as the door to Fleur's room slammed open in my face. Luella Thomas, vivid red hair pulled into half- pigtails smiled apologetically at me and backed up as I walked into a brick wall of noise. My best friend Jet was screaming at the top of her lungs and playing air guitar in the middle of the room, "BURN BURN FOR US, FOR THEM, FOR YOU!" Seeing as she hadn't noticed my entrance, I decided a flying tackle was the best way to announce myself, bringing both of us to the ground.

"You two…" Fleur sighed and shook her head, tossing her golden hair. She then paused for a second and re arranged it, checking the mirror at the same time. She'd already settled herself on her bed, lying flat out on her stomach with a magazine under her nose.

I snorted audibly, which was enough to set Luella into fits of giggles on its own. "You and your HAIR Fleur! I swear if you get any vainer you'll turn into Narcissus plus its bad luck to fall asleep with a mirror facing you"

"What are you talking about! I AM Narcissus." Fleur turned her attention back to her magazine, "Besides, viewing my reflection only makes for good dreams…" she grinned at me slyly. Ok so Fleur isn't that vain, she was joking. I hope you realised that, but hey, I'm the most gullible person in the world so I thought I'd clarify it for you! The temporary lull in the music between songs had ended as the next song kicked in. I stretched across the room and turned it down- considerably. "Why are you listening to that rubbish anyway?"

Jet sat up properly and folded her legs beneath her. "Yeah Lost Prophets SUCK Fleur."

She raised a single pale eyebrow. "Guys you love Lost Prophets, and besides Jet, you were just singing it at the top of your lungs. Oh and don't call me Fleur- I've decided I don't like it."

"Fleeeeeeeur…" Jet stretched the name out and rolled it round her mouth. "What's wrong with it anyway? You've always liked it up until now."

"Yeah well now I think it's too flowery." She retorted. Fleur always did this- change her mind about absolutely everything. I don't think she's even certain that she's indecisive.

Luella rolled her eyes and moved to lean against the bed. "Well duh, Fleur does mean 'flower' after all. What else do you want us to call you- Lady's Slipper?" She fell about laughing at her own joke- Lu does that a lot.

"Yeah- how about 'carnation' or 'Yorkshire fog.' Jet added. "English planty things by the way."

Me and Fleur nodded simultaneously; both Luella and Jet come from England, and so know all this English stuff that neither of us know anything about. Fleur is Californian, and I of course come from China. "How about being called Lily- Rose!" I smirked and ducked sideways as Jet lunged for me and missed. Her real name is Lily- Rose and she completely hates it. God knows why her parents tried to call her that, apparently according to her at least; she was a devil- child from the beginning. '666' is probably lurking somewhere beneath her thick raven hair. Scowling darkly she smacked my leg and folded her arms.

"Awww ickle Jetty is having a sulk." Luella tossed me her mobile as I laughed at Jet who was now glowering across the room. "Check out the messages-_ someone_ admitted _something_ about someone else last night. I promised I wouldn't tell by the way, so keep it quiet."

I'll get to the messages in a minute, but firstly I'd better describe my friends to you. All four of us have known each other for about a year when we enrolled at Balkov Abbey- a Beyblading Academy in the capital of Russia, Moscow. It's a boarding school so we're there pretty much all the time- or were, considering the fact all four of us had left! I'll explain that in a bit too- but we all came from different parts of the world. I personally am Chinese- I left my village after my brother Rei took off over a year ago. He was right- there's so much more to the world, so many more Beyblade opponents to contend with when you spread your wings. I haven't been back since; and I don't know where he is, and I don't really care. I mean, he left me, his twin sister, without even a goodbye. Why should I care about him when he obviously doesn't give a damn about me? I didn't have much else there anyway, save for friends. My parents died when I was young, and all my guardians seem to care about is honour and duty, and respect for the family. Well my family seems to have fallen apart. After my brother left I changed my ambitions from bringing up a family and sticking to all the Chinese honour and duty shit to becoming a championship Beyblader and it's all I care about now, which is why I came here to Russia. Balkov Abbey is a renowned school for training bladers- it produces winners, and I enrolled last year. Since then I discovered how exactly it got it's perfect breed of champions, and what they did with the ones that weren't good enough- hence the reason I only ended up there for a year. It's our last week together because we're all moving off, away from Russia. We left without permission, in fact, we _escaped. _Pretty cool huh? Well it wasn't. In fact it was bloody terrifying to be honest. Without Jet being such a daredevil and Kai's help, I wouldn't have ever made it out. I pretty much owe my life to them.

Jet (or Lily- Rose- depending on whether you have a death wish or not) Tyler is my closest friend. She's loud, sarcastic, cynical, witty, smart… and downright evil. Call her Lily- Rose and she_ will_ scalp you. Try judging her as a Goth or grunger and it's doubtless you'll ever see the light of day again. She came from England and moved here pretty much the same time as me- we became friends because I wouldn't stand down to her! Jet loves to intimidate people; yelling at me when I took the top bunk in our dorm was her little test of checking I was good enough to be her friend- lucky I passed, and I ended up with the top bunk anyway! Her sarcasm gets me every time- I can be rather naïve and I'm the most gullible person you're ever likely to meet. And no I didn't fall for the one about 'gullible' being taken out of the dictionary- although I refused to believe 'doh' had been put in! The thing is we match perfectly; I tend to keep her calm in some situations and she gets me to have fun in others. Blading is the main thing we have in common as well as our love for music. She plays drums, in her opinion it keeps her calm and allows her to hit something as hard as she likes that won't get hurt too badly, and I play guitar. Trust me- if Jet decided to hit you, it would hurt; she's surprisingly strong for her delicate frame. She looks like a Halloween china doll actually: straight glossy black hair, milky pale skin and raw dark blue eyes. You don't need red eyes to look evil when you have eyes like the inky pools of Death Lagoon. Her style does tend to get her judged though; right at that moment in Fleur's room she was wearing tight black jeans and a black Nightmare Before Christmas t-shirt over a long- sleeved black sweat top. Her feet were bare but I gathered she'd come in her black boots and her awesome crossover long coat thingie. It almost reaches down to the floor, and it's made out of a soft length of material that crosses over at the front and ties at the back with black ribbon. Jet wears black kohl eyeliner unfailingly, which is strikingly bold against her pale skin, dark purple eye shadow which flicks out at the outer corners of her eyes and five silver studs in her ears in total- three in one ear and two in the other. It's not particularly hard to see how she earned herself the nickname 'Jet.' Whenever we weren't at school in the past year and a bit, both me and Jet crashed in her cousin's flat. It may be tiny, but I was used to sleeping in weird places from the travelling I'd done between leaving China and reaching Russia and besides, we never slept there that often. Tom's such a dude too- he studies law and psychology at one of Moscow's colleges and is eighteen; Jet's cousin on her Mum's side. Funny thing is, he's the spitting image of Jet, with dark spiky hair and pale limbs, although he works out a lot and so therefore has a pretty good body. Fleur would say it's perfect; she's in love with him.

I flipped the phone round in my hand and went to open the message centre. 'Unlock code' appeared on the screen and I sighed. "Lu, you have to take off all these weird code things on your phone.'

"Yeah well you're not the one who has to deal with _siblings_," she shuddered as the word escaped from her lips. Lu had a younger brother and sister: Molly and Alex. Molly was only three, but Alex was ten and to Luella at least, a complete pain in the arse. Of course he was wonderfully sweet to me, Jet, Fleur and his parents, which drove Lu crazy- he was forever getting her in trouble. Probably had the same weird evil personality genes Jet has.

"Hmmm… Well mine decided to leave me on my own." Ok, ok, so sometimes I go on a bit about Rei, but he was my twin brother and we'd been close. I missed him; more than I cared to admit to anyone but Jet.

"Do you think you'll ever see him again?" Fleur was a true romantic- she completely believed in the whole red roses, gentleman, and true- love soul mate kind of stuff. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I _don't_ believe in it, it's just that from what I've seen of the world there doesn't seem to be a lot of kindness in your average human being. And the world was a weird place to find myself in when I left the village. As I've said, the village was an extremely remote place and very self- absorbed; well we developed feline characteristics so it's hardly going to be city central! I knew hardly anything about what was beyond my safe little world and nothing about technology or the terrible stuff that some people do, like rape and murder. Yeah it was terrifying but it was exciting as well- I'd never have discovered the whole grand- scale competitive side of blading if I hadn't left! I came out of my little head- memory of that day when I finally got up and never looked back, and turned the phone over in my hands again before Jet snatched it from me.

"I bloody well hope I see him!" I paused for effect, and whilst I may have been staring at the carpet (it was a rug actually- one that covered most of the presumably wooden floor and was reddish pink in colour with a shag pile) I knew Lu and Fleur would be looking confused. I looked up and made eye contact with Fleur. "I've decided to go and find him."

"Hey that's wicked!" Luella reached across for a high- five and Fleur smiled warmly at me. "Good going Kid." Jet knew anyway as I'd told her two nights previously when I'd first decided, so she stayed staring at the screen of the phone.

"Don't you want the code for that?" I asked, puzzled as a slow smile spread across Jet's features. I don't know about me, but Jet could look incredibly cat- like at times, and right now she looked like one who had just got the cream: double whipped cream with a crushed- sardine base and a chicken flake 99 by the looks of things. Her gaze shifted from me to Lu and they shared one heck of a secretive look. I must admit, I felt a tiny flicker of jealousy at a secret my best friend was evidently keeping from me.

"Someone loves liddle Kitty- Kat…" Jet sang as I rolled my eyes. Not this again. Yes I had to say I found it flattering, but this kid had been proclaiming his apparently undying love to me for just over three months, and I was starting to find it irritating. Besides, he was a year younger than me and was just so immature, of course.

Fleur and Luella now shared a look, and I became acutely aware of the fact that they all knew something I didn't. I was very confused, they wouldn't be like this if the message was just from my supposed 'admirer.' I narrowed my eyes; "What?"

Luella became dismissive. "Oh, so you don't like red- haired guys that go by the name of Tala anymore then?" All three of them 'mmmd' and 'aaahd' and then started to change the subject.

"Wait guys, what!" I repeated that word again, but more out of surprise than suspicion.

"Nah, you didn't want to know… So let's just talk about, uh, the weather instead! Awfully cold, wouldn't you say Fleur?" Luella was really dragging this out.

"JUST GODDAMN TELL ME!" I tried to kill or paralyse Jet with a death stare but she merely raised an eyebrow. That sort of stuff wouldn't work on Queen Evil Bitch.

I slumped and sighed in submission, watching Jet from underneath my dark brown bangs as she relaxed slightly.

"HaYAH!" I dived across the room and swiped the phone out of Jet's pale hands, hugging the prize tight to my chest. Now for pure, sweet truth of first- hand information. I peered at the phone keeping my grip tight and received second- hand info instead. The text wasn't from Tala himself as I'd so hoped, but Kai, his best friend. 'He really really likes her, but he wont admit it.' I frowned, confused. It's something I do a lot.

"So who's it about then?"

"For Gods' sakes Kit- for someone so smart you sure act dumb. From Kai, to Lu, about you and Tala." Fleur delivered the information monotone.

"Well yeah, but if Tala won't admit anything, not that there's anything to admit and not that I think I'm worth having something to admit about or anything… Then isn't Kai just speculating?" I'm not exactly prepared to risk assumption and besides, Tala had only ever been mean to me in the past.

Luella reached across for her phone as I handed it back to her. "Kit stop lying to yourself. It's obvious to us that you like him, and evidently obvious to Kai that Tala likes you, too."

I merely humphed and went silent, studying Luella's face for any signs she was lying. Any one of them could do that to me- lie until they convinced me of something and then admit the truth when it was too late for me to go back and change my mind. Actually it's rather difficult to see anything other than pureness in Lu's face. She's English, born in Kent but with Welsh origin, and quite frankly she's the spitting image of her Celtic ancestors. I envy her hair; it's a russet- red colour, full and wavy, and she has these amazing sparkling green eyes. Like Jet's, her skin is milky white, but the area across her nose is peppered with freckles. She sounds innocent, and she is to some degree; smart, sensible and with the reputation of 'good girl'- at least to her teachers. Of the four of us, Lu is the kindest, gentlest and probably easiest to talk to. Although I'm pretty laid back I'm kind of infamous for making sharp cutting comments- usually at the most inappropriate of times, which is where Lu and I differ; I've never heard her say anything maliciously to anyone, and I don't think I've ever even heard her say anything bad to anyone either! She's lived in Russia for four years since her father received a post at the college teaching psychology; he's one of Tom's professors, and her family is pretty big. As they were fairly close knit relatives a lot moved out here to Russia to start a new life: I've met her parents, brother and sister, aunt and uncle on her dad's side and their children; three of Lu's cousins, her grandparents on her dad's side and her mum's brother- another uncle, with a girlfriend and baby. See what I mean by big family? It drives Lu crazy as she often ends up looking after the kids when she wants to hang out with us. If it wasn't for her passive nature I'm pretty sure she'd have killed one of them by now!

I sighed inwardly and desperately tried to change the subject. "I want your socks." I said miserably, attempting to pull the black- and-white checked knee highs off Lu's feet. I caught Fleur's raised eyebrow in Jet's direction but none of them followed it up. I hated talking about Tala; I really had fallen hard for him which was stupid because he never seemed to like me, and from what I knew he was just a regular user. Enough girls fell at his feet which I found hilarious- it was great fun laughing at the fact that he had a fan club. Yeah so I can be mean to him too- but when he retaliates it really hurts. I've got used to hiding it over the past year; if I ever show him I care about what he says to me he'll just laugh in my face, and besides this country will be far behind me soon. I'll just forget about him altogether. Thinking about having to forget him just made me remember harder. Tala is, well, striking really. He was born in Russia, and his heritage is clearly etched in his facial features and smooth, pale skin. He has bright red hair, more vivid than my Celtic friend, and it's styled strangely- in winged pieces either side of his head, with bangs that fall straight down in front of his eyes. It was his eyes that really got me when I first saw him- piercing icy cold and aqua blue orbs that cut right through you. Those sharp little icicles burned icy hot whenever he felt any emotion, but never seemed to melt. In all honesty, catching his eye scared me- and the painfully sharp desire I felt was even more frightening. My mouth turned dry as I began to replay all my little fantasies inside my head. Apparently I now had a very hentai grin, because Luella kicked me lightly and smiled.

"Whatever you're thinking I don't want to know Kit."

I let go of her sock and remembered the fact that I'd never see Tala Ivanov again after this week. "Good because I wasn't going to tell you either way." I'd said it snappily and hadn't meant to.

Luella tilted her head on one side and slid onto the floor to sit cross- legged in front of me. "Well it was going to be part of your leaving gift thing, but I can tell you now that there is a pair of socks identical to these, wrapped up and ready to go with you wherever your quest shall take you!"

Jet leaped to her feet and held an imaginary sword aloft. "To the kitchen! We must rescue the treasure from the fire breathing dragon!"

Fleur smiled wryly and stretched before clambering off the bed gracefully. I don't know how she does that- I guess it was her glamorous Californian upbringing! In my opinion, she isn't lying when she says she doesn't mind going from being a spoilt rich girl in a large American house right by the beach to less well- off in a three bedroom semi in the middle of Russia. For one- she met us three! And she's always said it's more comfortable; no formalities and she's learned how to be 'nice'. Fleur's stories of her rich- bitchiness as a child always have me in fits of laughter!

She yawned widely and rolled her eyes at Jet, "Yeah I could do with some chocolate." That was another thing- no matter how much chocolate she ate her tall, slender golden- tinted figure always remained the same! Fleur Kimball was beautifully and typically American; she had long golden hair that tumbled to just below her shoulders, and today it was jammed beneath a royal blue and white trucker's cap, with the words 'can't sleep- clowns will eat me' emblazoned on the front. Her pale blue eyes were edged in smoky shades of eye shadow and dark kohl liner. Her makeup was more subtle than Jet's, but the dark colours emphasised her pale eyes, and her lips were bare. She was wearing a white tank top, customised with the words 'Dark Rose,' our band name, in blue and purple graffiti- style. Fitted khaki green cords completed her outfit, and her black zip- up jacket was tied around her waist. I loved that jacket- it had a dragon curled around in an 'S' shape on the back, but in rainbow sequins. Fleur was a wonderful designer, and she'd created the design and got Luella to sew the sequins on. Fleur had followed Jet into the hall and by the sounds of it was battling with the cardboard boxes as Luella got to her feet and offered me a glove- clad hand. I studied it thoughtfully.

"I want your gloves too." Luella raised an eyebrow as I grabbed her hand and she pulled me to my feet. She was quite short, so we were about the same height really.

"Not a hope in hell missy, so stop anchoring after them!" I sighed in resignation and pulled Fleur's bedroom door shut behind me. Lu's gloves were, in my opinion, the most awesome item of clothing any one of us owned. They were fingerless and made of a see- through, chiffon, red- pink material that extended to her elbows. Our sequin obsession was evident, as silver ones adorned the edges of both gloves. Out of all of us, Luella probably had the most interesting, eclectic style. Today she was wearing a black, white and pink stripy calf- length skirt over indigo jeans (and of course, the black and white socks), with a cotton, pale blue wrap- around top over a white strap top. It's her jewellery that amazes me though- all three tonnes of it! Lu had bangles in almost every colour, a string of pearls, dangly silver star earrings and a silky rainbow scarf plus five rings on today. Jet jumped down half of the stairs- her boundless energy is incredible- and had just got to the bottom as the doorbell rang.

"GO AWAY!" she yelled through the letterbox. I couldn't tell who it was- the front doors in our town all have distorted glass in the front doors. I could just imagine Fleur's expression of despair; whilst we were all close friends, there were times when Jet could really annoy her, and this was one of them. The visitor wasn't easily deterred, however; whoever it was just glued their finger to the bell.

"For gods' sakes just open the door Lily. " Only one person other than us three would be brave enough to call Jet that, and I winced at the expression on her face. From strange and fun- loving to evil murderous female with one simple word. If Jet wasn't the devil incarnate, she was easily a black widow spider. Wrenching the door open, she flew at Tala, claws out. And they say I'm the Kitty in this town! But Tala's smart- he was two paces behind Bryan who now had Jet at arms' length. Tala pulled his hood down and stepped inside- that's Tala for you, walk right on through, leave your manners at the door. He caught my eye and held my gaze briefly- My Chemical Romance lyrics flitted across my brain… _Into your icy blues_… and something must've changed in my expression. Evidently Tala had got the reaction he wanted, as he smirked at me and my gaze hardened. I would be leaving him far, far behind soon, and anyway- that song ends _All we are is bullets… _anyhows. Looking anywhere but at the little wolf, I caught Fleur's raised eyebrow and Luella's quietly amused smile.

"What!" Up until now we'd stayed in our positions- me halfway up the stairs, Luella two stairs below me and Fleur at the bottom. Bryan had released Jet and she was now leaning against the wall, arms folded, slim black eyebrows angled inwards. She reminded me of Kai Hiwatari- Tala's best friend, and a student at the abbey. His Grandfather owned the place. But I didn't smile; I'd had enough of Tala's stupid, painful games, and the way my friends seemed to think it was funny or interesting to observe just got up my arse. Plus Bryan was there and he scared me. With my exclamation everyone moved though. Bryan shut the door on the now dark street and whirling snow, Jet stood up properly, and Luella moved down the stairs to join Fleur at the bottom. Not wanting to join in on social interaction, I just sat down. Ever heard that A.A. Milne poem? "Halfway up the stairs is the stair where I stop… It isn't at the bottom and it isn't at the top…? Well that was where I was, but I had a good goddamn reason for sitting there, unlike the boy in the poem who didn't seem to realise why he was there or that it was even a stairwell anyway. I might be sounding like a cynical cow but I don't care less to be honest; I'll curse Tala to hell in my head, and hope no one notices. But I wanted to hurt or annoy him back in some way, so my words came first.

"It's Mr Frosty come to sell his ice creams." Yes it was rubbish. My brain was hurting too much to bother coming up with good sarcastic comments.

"Kit." Luella warned, before turning her face from me to Tala, leaving me feeling slightly ashamed. Me and Tala did this to each other all the time, for sure, but admittedly without him none of us would have escaped from the abbey, and it was me that had been in danger there.

"What are you doing here?" So Lu's question didn't exactly sound polite either, but no abbey student was allowed out during term time. 'Boarding school at Balkov Abbey' meant 'sit and stay at all times except when we decide to let you go home over summer and Christmas.' And trust me; Balkov Abbey is no conventional school either. Break the rules and you're severely punished. The training is life threatening- if you're too weak you die or disappear with no explanation. What goes on in the bowels of that building is worse than illegal, and it's the reason I was in danger. Our escape had been incredibly dangerous; in all honesty it was amazing all of us had made it out unharmed. If Tala and Kai were found to have been helping us…… Well the consequences were too dire to bear thought. They'd laid their lives on the line for us and I was still badmouthing Tala. The anger of the icy gaze I could feel dissipated as Tala talked to Lu.

"We managed to sneak out. But Lu- " here he brushed his hand across her arm to ensure she listened properly… and I couldn't deter the hot flush of jealousy that caught in my throat- 'Boris knows you're gone. I've never seen him this angry- you have to get out of here soon. All of you." Our eyes locked again and I looked away, staring at the wall instead.

"He can't hurt us here, can he?" Fleur sounded very young for once. I almost snorted- the very thought of Boris not finding a way to hurt us was laughable. He himself was untouchable; everyone respected and honoured him. He had contacts with important people- not least of all Voltaire, Kai's grandfather. Rumour had it he even had a close friend in the Tsar. My gaze shifted across to Bryan. He was being trained to block all emotion apart from hatred- a fact only myself, Tala, Kai and a handful of other students knew. I knew more than my three best friends simply because I was a better blader than them. Bladers at Balkov abbey are ranked according to skill. Grade 1 bladers are the best- there are few of them, but they're given special specific training to ensure that they become champions. Other bladers are trained in the harsh way of the abbey, until they become immune to emotional and physical pain and can move up to the next level of training- or until they simply fail. No one knows what becomes of those bladers. No one really wants to know. I, like Tala, Kai and Bryan, am a grade 1 blader, and each of us has, or in my case had, special training. That was why I had to get out. My fate was to be worse than Bryan's, or any other Grade 1 bladers. I swear- Balkov Abbey is a death camp. I managed to make it out alive. Not even my fellow companions of the Dark Rose Four knew what Boris and Voltaire had planned… they just knew it was bad enough to merit a life threatening escape. And now we had to get away from Russia as quickly as possible- or our attempts would be in vain.

I think I probably sighed heavily at this point, because everyone looked at me.

"At some point you're going to have to stop feeling sorry for yourself Kit." I hated the way he said it so calmly. It was so deprecating.

"Why bother? I've only ever had to look out for myself and this is the way I do it. And since when did you become a psychologist anyway? What the hell gives you authority to determine what I'm thinking or feeling when I sigh! You don't have a clue what's going on in my head so shut up. And you might want to stop acting like a hero 'at some point' also. You think we don't know what Boris is going to be like?" Once I'd started I couldn't stop- Tala had made one comment and I'd effectively had a go at him. My voice had been rising too, so by the end of my no-pause-for-breath-stream-of-angry-words I was practically shouting. Everyone was looking at me all bug- eyed and I knew I seemed ungrateful. For the second time since Tala had come through the door, I felt ashamed.

"You think you're the only one who knows Boris for what he truly is-"

I cut Tala off, "No I said 'we' actually. Generally refers to more than one person."

"Oh come on Kit you know as well as I do that these three have no clue what he was intending to do," he paused. "To you."

"Yeah and I don't want them to know. So shut up and drop the subject before you let 'something' slip."

Jet was staring at me unblinkingly, whilst Fleur and Luella followed mine and Tala's argument like a game of ping pong. All I wanted to do was curl up and cry- attempt to suppress any memories of Boris and his abbey and get as far away from Russia as possible. Instead I was having yet another argument with the one person I didn't want to hate. There was a moment of silence in which Tala stared at me angrily, his fests clenched. At least the calmness was gone. Anger I could face- quiet disappointment was excruciating. I was preparing to run from the situation; barricade myself in the bathroom until it was all over, but suddenly the phone rang. At the expense of a cliché, you could cut the tension with a knife, and we all jumped a mile at the seemingly normal sound.

Before any of us could answer it, Tala fixed me with his gaze. "You're not the only one Boris uses for a project Tess. And some of us can't just leave like you can." He stormed out of the door followed swiftly by Bryan, leaving me to contemplate. The phone rang into shocked silence. Whatever he'd meant it was serious: why else would he use my first name like that?

Realisation seeped into my skin and under my skull like the cold damp, watery dawns sleeping outdoors in China. I pressed my hands into my forehead in shame.

Luella stared at me. "Kit what the hell-?"

Finally someone moved. It was Jet and she stretched widely before frowning and glaring at the ringing plastic. "Can someone please get the goddamned phone!"

"Oh yeah." Fleur reached for it and pressed the loudspeaker button. "Hello?"

"Miss Kimball? We need to discuss your absence from school immediately. I will be visiting your home shortly. I believe Miss Kon is also there? Am I right?"

I almost cursed, but Luella leapt half the stairs and clamped her hand over my mouth. Boris was coming over.

There you are. It's burned me out! Please leave your comments, it's much appreciated! Ciao for now


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